Internal combustion engine



Oct. 25, 1938.

REEVES INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed April 25, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Oct'. 25, 1938. A. REEVES INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE .2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed April 23, 1936 /NVENTOR AL. Q55 v50 Patented Oct. 25, 1938 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFF-lea INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Arthur L. Reeves,Caron, Saskatchewan, Canada Application April 23, 1936, Serial No;76,053

My invention relates to internal combustion .engines and an object ofthe invention is to provery small travel to open sumciently to allow thefree passage of gases and thereby reduces the hammering of valves, camsand rocker arms encountered in the conventional type of engine.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterherein described which reduces the amount of power taken from the crankshaft by the valves by using only onevalve instead of two as in theusual type of internal combustion engine.

A further objectof my invention is to provide a device of the characterherein described in which the side ports are isolated during the firingstroke. I

A further object of my invention is to provide adevice of the characterherein described having a single master valve around which pass both thehot exhaust gases and the cool intake gases, the valve thereby warmingand aiding vaporization of'the intake gases and cooling to some extentthe exhaust gases.

A still further object of my invention is toprovide a device 'of thecharacter herein described which is simple to construct and will noteasily become out of order.

With the above more important objects in View and such other minorobjects as may appear as the specification proceeds, my inventionconsists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts all ashereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which i Fig. 1 illustrates a vertical centralsection of my invention with the rocker arm shown in full.

Fig. 2 shows 'a vertical section of a furtherembodiment of my inventiontaken on the-line 2-2 of Figure 5.

Fig. 3 shows a still further embodiment of my invention taken on theline 33 of' Figure 4.

Fig. 4 illustrates a horizontal section taken on the line 44 of Figure3.

Fig. 5 illustrates. a horizontal section on .the line 5- 5 of Figure. 2.N Fig. 6 illustrates a plan view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1.

taken 1' Claim. (01. 123-79) Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectiontaken on the line 'l-1- of Figure 5;

Fig. 8 is a detail view of the method used for attaching thereciprocating arm for rotating the sleeve used with the'embodiment of myinvention illustrated in FigureB. 7 7

Inthe drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding partsin the difierent fig ures.

My invention consists of a housing I composed of a lower outwardlybulging crank case 2 which converges to a vertically disposed cylindercasing 3. The cylinder casing, it will be noted, has double walls, aninner wall 4 and an outer wall 4' with passageways. 5therebetween. Thesepassageways are for the purpose of providing a water jacket around thecentral cylinder formed by the inner wall 4. I 7

Upon the upper annular surface 6 of the cylinder casing is placed agasket 1 and surmount- '1 ed. thereon is the cylinder head 8 having acon- I figuration as shown in the drawings accompanying thisapplication. This cylinder head is also double walled and passageways 9are provided therein to receive water for cooling purposes.

cylinder formed by the walls 4 thus leaving a space H] between thecylinderhead and the'walls 4 for a purpose later to be explained. I i

Centrally disposed within the lower end of the cylinder head is a valveseating leading upwardly into a chamber I2 thereabove from which bushingl5 having an upper flange i6 is inserted therein. Through the center ofthe bushing extends a valve stem H to the lower end of which is attacheda large mushroom valve l8 designed to engage with the seating H on theunder side of the cylinder head.

The upper end of the valve stem I1 is threaded and a nut I9 having anoutwardly extending flange 20 is threadablyattached thereto. Interposedbetween the flanges It on the bushing I5 and'the flanges 20 isaic'ompressed helical spring 2i which tends to keep the valve l8 inengagement with the seating ll. Adjustment of the pressure exerted bythe springjmay be accomplished by changing the position of the nut l9upon the threaded portion of the valve stem.

surmounted upon the upper surface of the Valve head are standards 22which carry a horizontally disposed shaft 23 upon which is pivotallymounted a rocker arm 24 obliquely disposed with relation to the shaft23. One end of the rocker arm is formed into a head 25, the lowersurface 26 of which is designed to bear against the upper end of thevalve stem II. The opposite end of the rocker arm is provided with athreaded orifice 21 therethrough and a threaded shank 28 is passed intothe orifice. The upper end of this shank is furnished with adiametrically located groove 29 for the reception of a screwdriver andthe lower end thereof is spherically formed as at 30 to form 'a ball fora ball and socket joint. In order that the shank 28 may be maintained inany position desired,

locking nut 3| is also provided. g 7.

Within the gear casing2 is furnished'a horizontally disposed cam shaft32. upon which is located a cam 33having a configuration as bestillustrated in Figure 9. Apush rod 34 extends between the cam 33 and thespherical head 36 of the'shank 26 and is provided at its lower end witha tappet in the form of a roller 35 maintained in position by a pin 36passing through the bifurcated lower end of the rod.

To the top end of the rod is afiixed a head 31 with an upwardly openingsocket 38 therein having a semispherical lower surface 39 to receive thespherical head 30 on the shank 28. This head is maintained in contactwith the socket and the roller 35 in engagement with the cam 33 by meansof the spring 2| upon the shank l1;

It should here be mentioned that the cam shaft 32 is geared to the crankshaft of the engine in the usual manner, and is designed to rotate atone half the speed of the crank shaft.

Within the cylinder formed by the walls 4 is inserteda snugly fittingcylindricalsleeve 40. The upper end of this sleeve is received into thespace l0 between the cylinder head. and the walls 4 and encircling thespherical portion of the head are furnished piston rings Hand similarrings 42 are placed around the outer surface of the cylinder 40 toengage with the walls 4.

Integral with the lower end of the cylinder 40 is provided a laterallyextending arm 43 in the outer end of which i is formed van internallythreaded vertically disposed orifice 44. A second.

tappet 45- is threaded into this orifice and is maintained in positiontherein by'a lock nut 46. A roller 41 is provided within'the bifurcatedend of the tappet and engages with a cam or eccentric 48 also mountedupon the cam shaft 32.

Within the upper part of the crank case 2 and. n alignment with thelongitudinal axis of the tappet 45 is a tapped orifice into which isplaced a bolt 50 which protrudes slightly past the lower surface of thecrank case. Interposed between the crank case and the arm 43 andencircling the protruding ends of the bolt 50 and the tappet 45 is acompressed helical spring 5| which tends to maintain the roller 41inengagement at all times with the cam 48. 7

Within the sleeve 40-is inserted the usual type of piston 52 andprotruding from the lower end thereof is the conventional connecting rod53 pivotally attached to thepiston by the wrist pin Extending throughthe cylinder walls 4 and 4' are a pair of passageways to be used asintake passageway 56 when the sleeve is in its upper position.

Diametrically opposed to the ports 55 and 56 is a threaded orifice 58 toreceive the conventional type of spark plug 59 therein and an ori fice60 is provided within the sleeve 40 and is designed to come intoalignment with the spark when the spark plug is fired as will bepresently explained:

The operation ofthis device is as follows. In the position shown, thesleeve 40 and the piston 52 are at their lowest points and the engine isready to commence the exhaust stroke. It should here be mentioned thatas the cam shaft 32 rotates at only half the speed of the crank shaft,the piston slides within the sleeve 40 and the sleeve within the walls4. Immediately prior to the piston advancing upwardly, the push rod 34is raised which opens the valve I8 and thereby allows the gases withinthe chamber formed by the piston head and sleeve 40 to be expelledthrough the passageway l3 and through "the exhaust port 55.

During the upward movement of the piston, the sleeve 40 is also risingand when the piston reaches its highest point, the orifice 51 moves outof alignment with the port 55 and therefore closes the exhaust port. Asthe piston now moves downwardly, the sleeve continues to rise and comesinto engagement with the intake port 56. The valve I8 is maintained openby the cam 33 and therefore fuel is sucked in through the passageway l3and into the cylinder.

When the piston again reaches its lowest point, the sleeve will be atits highest point and in this position, the valve [8 closes. The pistonnow rises for the compression stroke and the sleeve commences to movedownwardly. Immediately after the compression stroke is completed, theorifice 60 being in alignment with the spark plug at this time, thespark plug fires and the resulting explosion causes the piston andsleeveto move to the positions shown and the cycle is again repeated.

In the second embodiment of my invention 11-- tral cylindrical walls 63as in my first embodir ment.

Upon the upper horizontal surface 65 of the cylinder walls is a gasket66 and surmounted thereupon, I provide my cylinder head 61, Thiscylinder head is also double walled in orderto allow water to becirculated therein and has a cylindrical portion 68 Whichextendsdownwardly into the cylinder formed by the walls 63 which is of smallerdiameter than the cylinder to leave a space 68 between the. cylinder andthe portion 68.

Eccentrically disposed within the cylinderhead and extending verticallytherethrough is furnished a bushing 69 having. a flange 69 adjacentthe-upper end thereof, thisflange seating against the upper surface ofthe head 61-. A valve stem I0 provided with a collar II threadablyattached to the upper end thereof and a mushroom valve 1-2 at the lowerend thereof is passed through the bushing.

A spring I2 identical to the one usedin the first embodiment of myinvention is interposed between the flange 69 upon the bushing and thecollar II. The valve actuating mechanism, namely, the rocker arm I3,bush rod I4, follower I5 and cam I6 upon the cam shaft '11, are allidentical to the valve actuating mechanism used in the first embodimentof my invention.

Within the lower portion of the cylinder head 61 is provided a valveseating "I8 to receive the valve I2. This seating extends upwardly andbranches into two passageways I9 and 80. These passageways, it should benoted, extend upwardly and outwardly and have an obtuse angle betweentheir center lines so that upon reaching the side Walls of the cylinderhead, the outer orifices of the passageways are diametrically opposed.In alignment with the outer openings at the passageways I9 and withinthe cylinder head are provided exhaust and inlet ports 8| and 82respectively which pass through the cylinder walls 63 and 63.

Adjacent the valve I2 within the cylinder head, is a socket 83 fromthelo-wer end of which extends a downwardly threaded orifice 84 designedto receive the usual type of spark plug 85, the sparking tips 86' ofwhich are adjacent the lower end of the orifice 84.

Within the cylinder formed by the walls 63 of the cylinder casing, Iprovide a snugly fitting cylindrical sleeve 85, the upper end of whichis designed to be received within the space 68" between the cylinderhead and the wall 63.

A laterally projecting lug 86 is made integral with the lower portion ofthe sleeve 85 and is provided with a bifurcated end 81.

Immediately below the end 81 of the lug 86 is attached an eccentric 88upon the cam shaft 11. A split collar 89 encircles the eccentric and anarm 90 attached thereto extends upwardly to be received within thebifurcated end 81 of the lug 86 and is pivotally attached thereto bymeans of a pin 9| passing through the ends 81 and also through the upperend of the arm 90.

It will now be evident that rotation of the crank shaft I! will cause avertical reciprocating motion of the sleeve to occur.

Near the upper end of the sleeve 85 and diametrically opposed thereinare two apertures 92 and 93. In the position of the sleeve shown inFigure 2, the aperture 82 is in alignment with the upper end of thepassageway I9 and also with the exhaust port 8| so as to provide acontinuous passageway therethrough. When the sleeve moves to its extremeupper position, the aperture 93 becomes in alignment with the outer endof the passageway 80 and the inlet port 82 but in this position, theaperture 92 will have moved upwardly to close the exhaust port 8|.

A piston 94 of the conventional type is inserted within the sleeve 85and is pivotally attached by the connecting rod 95 to the usual crankshaft. It should here be notedthat in this embodiment also, the camshaft is geared to the crank shaft and is designed to rotate at one halfthe speed of the crank shaft.

Thisembodiment of my invention operates'in thefollowing manner. 1 l v Inthe positionshown, the piston 94 and the sleeve 84' are at their lowestpoints of travel; Im-' medi'atelyprior to upward movement of the piston,the valve I2 opens and asthe piston commences to rise, the sleeve movesupwardly also.

This is the exhaust stroke when gases are forced through the passageway19, the aperture 92 and the port 8I.' When the piston reaches itshighest point, the exhaust port is just'cut off by means of the sleeveand the aperture 93 -commences to come into alignment between thepassage- Way 80 and the inlet port 88. Thus, on the first downwardstroke of the piston, fuel is sucked in through the port #2 andpassageway 80 intothe cylinder. As the piston again commences to rise,the valve "I2 closes and the gases within the cylinderare compressedtherein. Shortly after a second' downward travel of the piston hascommenced, the spark plug 85' fires and" the piston is forced to itslowest position where it is again ready for the exhaust stroke and thecycle is thus repeated. r

In the third embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and7, I utilize the same type of crank case 96- as in the 'formerembodiments upon which is mounted theusual inner cylinder 9'! and outercylinderilfl between which is the water jacket 98. The usual gasket 99'is placed upon the top of" the cylinders and the cylinder head I 00 issurmounted thereon. This cylinder head is also provided-with passagewaysIOI therein for the circulationof water for cooling purposes, A circularrecess I02 is eccentrically located within the upper end ofthe cylinderhead from the lower end of which extends a vertical orifice I03.) Abushing- IMhaving a flange I05 is inserted within this orifice; 'A valvestem I06 is passed throughthis bushing and is provided at its lower endwith the usual large'mushroom valve .I0'I. The-actuating mechanism forfirst two embodiments and it is therefore not necessary to furtherdescribe this portion of the invention.

A valve seating I08 isprovided in the lower end of the cylinder head toreceive the valve I07 and extends upwardly into a passageway I09 whichflares outwardly as best illustrated in Figure4 to provide a wide mouthIIO. Adjacent the valve Within the cylinder head is located a spark plugin a manner identical to that described in the second embodiment of myinvention and shown most clearly in Figure '7.

Within the cylinder 91, I provide a vertically disposed sleeve III, tothe lower end of which is pivoted an arm IIZ. This arm extends betweenthe cylinder and one leg of a bell crank I I3 which is rotatably mountedupon a shaft II4 affixed to the crank case walls. The lower leg of thebell crank is made to bear against an eccentric cam I I5 mounted uponthe cam shaft I I 6 by means of a tensile helical spring I I! extendingbetween the bell crank and the crank case.

A detailed view of the type of bearing used at either end of the arm H2is illustrated in Figure 8. Into the sleeve or bell crank whichever thecase may be, is screwed a short stub shaft Instead of utilizing. avertical reciprocating motion of the sleeve inthis embodiment, I havedesigned a means whereby the sleeve may be rotated upon its longitudinalaxis as will be evident from the above description of the bell crank andassociated mechanism.

At the upper end of the cylinder is located a rectangular aperture I 2Ihaving its longer axis disposed in a vertical plane which is designedupon an oscillated motion of 'the sleeve III to move backwardly andforwardly between the side limits of the passageway I09 and thus to comesuccessively into alignment with the exhaust and inlet ports I22 and I23respectively which pass through the walls of the cylinder.

. This embodiment of my invention operates as follows. In the positionindicated, the piston is at its lowest position and the passageway I09opens through the aperture I2I into the exhaust port I22. Upon thepiston moving upwardly, the sleeve III will commence to rotate and closethe port I22 when the piston reaches its highest position. During thisoperation, the valve III! has been opened in a manner similar to thatdescribed in the former embodiments.

As the piston now commences its first downward movement, the apertureI2I- comes into alignment with the intake port I23 and fuel is suckedinto the cylinder III. The valve III'I now closes and the compressionstroke commences. Immediately after the completion of this stroke, thespark plug fires and the working stroke takes place whereupon the pistonreturns to the position indicated in Figure 3 for which the cycle isagain repeated.

From the foregoing, it will now be evident that I have provided anextremely simple and ingenious type of internal combustion engine whichhas the advantage of using only one valve for both intake and exhaustports and thereby reduces the troubles encountered through the use ofvalves and also the noise produced thereby. The

single valve also aids in vaporizing the fuel taken into the cylinderand in cooling the exhaust gases expelled from the engine.

Since various modifications can be made in the above invention, and manyapparently widely difierent embodiments of same, made within the scopeofthe claims without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it isintended that all matter contained in the accompanying specifica tionshall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting senseand I desire only such limitations placed thereon as are specificallyexpressed in the accompanying claim.

What I claim as my invention is:

Improvements in internal combustion engines comprising an enginecylinder, a cylindrical sleeve slidably mounted within said cylinder, aspark plug communicable with the interior of said sleeve, a cylinderhead mounted upon said cylinder, a portion thereof being designed. todepend into said cylinder, said depending portion being spaced from saidcylinder to permit the passage of said sleeve between said dependentportion and said cylinder, a valve operating shaft operated in timedrelation with themain crank shaft of the engine, a poppet valve in saidcylinder head, a gas inlet and exhaust passageway extending from theperiphery of said depending portion and opening against said sleevevalve, said cylinder being provided with intake and exhaust portstherein in alignment with the outer end of the inlet and exhaustpassageway, said sleeve being provided with an aperture therein designedto move into alignment between said inlet .port and passageway or saidexhaust port and passageway during said selected intervals in the cycleof said engine, said sleeve valve being actuated by an eccentric uponsaid valve operating shaft, said poppet valve being actuated through apush rod and a rocker arm, by a cam also upon'said valve operatingshaft.

ARTHUR L. REEVES.

